


Vanished

by gxldenskyes



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:48:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25752376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gxldenskyes/pseuds/gxldenskyes
Summary: Sarah Jane goes missing one day and all her friends come to help find her.
Relationships: Clyde Langer/Rani Chandra, Luke Smith/Sanjay, Twelfth Doctor/Sarah Jane Smith
Comments: 12
Kudos: 21





	1. Coming Together

Sky opened her eyes as the sun shone in her eyes. She covered her eyes, turning to look at the clock on her bedside. It was half past nine and it was a Saturday. Sky decided now was the best time to get up. She sat up, stretching her arms as she yawned. When she left her room, Sky headed downstairs.

“Mum?” She called as she went into the kitchen. There was no sign of Sarah Jane but Sky wasn’t worried. She headed through to the living room and she wasn’t there either, “Mum?” Sky called through the house. There was no answer.

Maybe she was outside. Sky looked outside and she wasn’t there. The car was still there so there was no reason for her to think she was out. Sarah Jane would have told her anyways. Sky was a little confused. She probably would have answered by now, even if she was in the attic. Maybe she was having a lie in? Sky tried to reassure herself a little and decided that’s what she had to be doing. Sky went upstairs and knocked on Sarah Jane’s bedroom door.

“Mum?” Sky called. No answer, “Mum?” No answer once more, “Okay, mum, I’m coming in now. I hope you’re not getting ready.”

Slowly, Sky opened the door and the room was empty. No signs of life whatsoever. Sarah Jane’s bed was practically untouched. Sky’s heart was thudding hard within her chest.

\- - -

Rani groaned as she was awoken by her persistent text alerts. She sat up tiredly. She was back home for the weekend from university and she was looking forward to a lie in. Rani grabbed her phone and read the texts she had just received.

“Come quickly!!!! Mum’s disappeared, I can’t find her anywhere.” The texts from Sky read, “I’m really worried. Please come quick.”

Rani was suddenly wide awake and she raced through to the bathroom to get ready. Rani explained to her parents that Sky said Sarah Jane wasn’t at home so she was just checking up on her before almost sprinting across the street to number thirteen.

Rani ran up the stairs of the tall house until she reached the attic. Sky stood, also dressed, in front of Mr. Smith. She held her mobile tightly in her hands and looked incredibly worried.

“Hey.” Rani walked over to the younger girl, giving her a hug, “It’s okay.”

Sky started to cry. She was so worried about her mum. Where could she have gone? Sky was also very worried that Luke would be annoyed at her. Sky felt like this was all her fault.

“Mr. Smith can’t find her anywhere.” Sky cried, “I’m so worried.”

“It’s okay. We’re gonna find her.” Rani reassured her, “She’s gonna be okay.”

“But what if she isn’t?” Sky looked up to Rani, her eyes puffy and red.

“She will be.” Rani tried to reassure not only Sky, but also herself.

The attic door suddenly swung open and Clyde stood there. He too looked very worried.

“I’m sorry, I came as quick as I could.” Clyde tried.

“It’s okay.” Rani replied, “I just got here too.”

“What happened?” Clyde asked Sky.

“I don’t know. I just woke up and I couldn’t find her anywhere.” Sky explained, “It’s not like she went to bed or anything.”

Clyde and Rani looked at each other. The closest they had been to Sarah Jane totally disappearing was when Ruby White had her locked in her basement and tried to feed off of her. There were so many possibilities of how this happened but also nothing. It was so strange.

Suddenly, they heard tires screeching from outside. Rani went up to the window near Mr. Smith and looked out.

“It’s Luke and Sanjay.” Rani turned to look at the two.

“Oh no.” Sky started to panic.

“Hey, it’s gonna be alright.” Clyde reassured the younger girl, “You don’t need to worry.”

Footsteps bounded up the stairs and soon, Luke and Sanjay appeared at the attic door. Luke wore a look of rage on his face whilst Sanjay looked very worried. K-9 also soon appeared behind Sanjay’s legs.

“Where the hell is mum?” Luke walked up to Sky.

“I don’t know!” Sky explained, “I woke up and she was just gone.”

“I knew I should have stayed home this year! I knew we shouldn’t have trusted you to be alone with her.” Luke grew angrier.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sky asked.

“You were supposed to keep an eye on mum when Clyde and Rani went to uni. Now, look what’s happened!” Luke said. He never really admitted it but he was just as protective over Sarah Jane as she was over him and Sky.

“Luke, that’s not fair.” Rani tried to calm the situation down.

“Mum adopted me, Luke. I didn’t adopt her.” Sky tried to stick up for herself, “I didn’t cause all of this. It’s not my fault!”

“It is if you didn’t muck about all the time! No wonder she’s gone. You’re so careless, Sky!” Luke moved closer to her.

“I hate you!” Sky shouted as she started to cry harder. Suddenly, sparks flew from the light at Sarah Jane’s desk.

Sky stomped out of the attic, slamming the door behind her as another light exploded.

“Oh, nice one, Luke!” Rani said sarcastically before going after Sky.

Luke realised what he had done. He couldn’t bear to look at Clyde and went over to the steps in front of Mr. Smith, sitting down on them. He huffed as he buried his head in his hands, he had no clue what to do. Without his mum, he felt so lost.

Clyde and Sanjay looked at one another. They never expected Luke to act like this never mind take out on Sky. They understood why he was feeling this way. Clyde knew he probably would have been the same way if it was his mum but it still wasn’t fair on Sky.

“I’ve messed it up, haven’t I?” Luke said quietly. He still seemed to still have that innocence he possessed after Sarah Jane found him.

“Well, I wouldn’t say you handled that very well.” Clyde replied as he tried to add a light humour before joining him on the steps, “You can’t take it out on her, mate. Especially just because she was the only one here.”

“I don’t know what to do.” Luke said. He felt helpless.

“You could start with apologising to your sister.” Clyde explained, “You need each other and we’re all here for you.” He put his hand on Luke’s shoulder, making him lift his head, “We’ll find her. Even if we have to go to another dimension. We’ll find her. Nothing’s impossible when it comes to Sarah Jane.”

Luke just tried a smile. He then looked back at his hands clasped together. He felt the lump in his throat growing. Clyde knew he was on the verge of tears and as he looked back to Sanjay, he knew it was best to leave the two together. He smiled a small smile to Sanjay before turning back to Luke.

“I’ll go check on her, okay?”

Luke just nodded and Clyde left the attic. Sanjay joined his boyfriend on the steps. He had never seen Luke in such a state and it broke his heart.

“What are you thinking about?” Sanjay asked softly.

“The worst.” Luke replied, “So many things could have happened to her.”

“We don’t know that for certain.” Sanjay cupped Luke’s cheek. He looked so broken, “Oh, Luke. She’s gonna be okay.”

“We don’t know that though. So many people... things, they have it out for mum... I don’t know where to start.” Luke fiddled with his fingers.

Sanjay slipped his hand in Luke’s. Luke looked back to Sanjay. Sanjay kissed the back of his hand before trying a smile.

“She’ll be alright. We’ll look for her.”

Sky lay down on the bed as she cried. She buried her face into the pillow, sobbing almost hysterically. She knew Luke would act like this but she still felt so hurt that he said it was her fault. Sky already felt guilty about everything but after Luke said what he said, she felt so much worse.

Rani knocked on the door gently before walking in. She noticed Sky on the bed and she felt horrible for her. Rani remembered how Luke was when Ruby was feeding from Sarah Jane and how he was very similar to how he acted now. Rani knew how it felt to have Luke act like that towards her but Sky was very sensitive and the siblings were probably still not used to each other yet. Rani assumed that Luke probably thought it was okay to have a go at Sky because she was his little sister but it still wasn’t fair on her. As Sky sniffled, Rani noticed the light at Sky’s desk flickering slightly and it made her nervous a little.

“Sky?” Rani asked.

Sky rolled over slowly to look at Rani. Rani tried a smile as she walked over to her.

“Are you alright?” Rani asked.

Sky just nodded as she held a cushion in her arms. Rani pulled a chair over to Sky’s bed and sat opposite her. She didn’t want to rush Sky into speaking about it straight away but she didn’t know what else to do.

“He doesn’t mean it, Sky.” Rani said, “He’s just stressed.”

“I’m stressed too.” Sky whined.

“I know I know.” Rani reassured, “Sarah Jane wouldn’t want you two arguing.”

“You should tell him that.” Sky rolled over, her back now facing Rani.

“I’m sure Clyde’s giving him a good telling off right now.” Rani said.

Sky chuckled softly. She rolled back over to face Rani again. She played with her fingers before looking up to the older girl.

“What are we going to do if we can’t find her?” Sky asked.

“I don’t know but we will find her.” Rani tried to reassure her, “We need to be positive.”

Sky just nodded quietly as she played with the corner of the cushion. Clyde then appeared at the bedroom door, making Rani and Sky turn to look at him.

“Hey.” Clyde tried a smile, “Are you alright?”

Sky just nodded. Clyde joined the two girls as he sat at the door of the bed.

“Did you talk to him?” Rani asked.

“Yeah.” Clyde nodded, “I left him with Sanjay. I feel like he’ll probably be better getting through to him with this.”

“Fair enough.” Rani nodded. She then thought about everything, “We’re going to have to call the police, aren’t we?”

“I don’t know how we’re going to do that though. I mean it’s not exactly simple when we have loads of different alien gizmos in the attic.”

“Well, nothing is ever totally simple with Sarah Jane, I’ll give her that.” Rani rubbed her forehead.

“What about UNIT?” Sky asked.

“What about them?” Rani asked.

“Well, surely they could help us in some way.” Sky replied.

“Yes! We need to get Luke to call the Brigadier’s daughter.” Clyde turned to Rani, “Remember they’re really close. They could handle the alien side of this and then the police could do the, you know, Earth side.”

“Sarah Jane wouldn’t want us going to UNIT. You know what she was like with them finding Luke and Sky.”

“The Brigadier’s daughter pretty much owns UNIT, Rani. Sarah Jane trusts her and if she trusts her, we can trust her.”

“I suppose.”

There was a soft knock at the door and the three turned to see Luke standing there. Rani and Clyde knew this was their cue to leave. The two left the room and went up to the attic, leaving Luke and Sky in the room.

“Can I come in?” Luke asked quietly.

Sky just nodded. She sat up, bringing her knees up to her chin. Luke noticed how puffy Sky’s eyes were and he felt so bad that he had done that to her. He sat on the chair that Rani had pulled over to the bed and it was quiet for a moment as Luke built up the courage to finally speak.

“Sky, I’m so sorry.” He apologised, “I should have never blamed this on you. It wasn’t fair on you at all.”

“Why did you blame it on me?” Sky asked, “Do you not trust me?”

“Of course I trust you, Sky.” Luke tried, “I just… I didn’t think before I spoke and I let it all blurt out.” He took Sky’s hand, “Of course, I trust you. You’re my little sister.”

Sky said nothing as she sat up and hugged Luke. Luke wanted to cry as he hugged his sister. He felt so guilty about how he made Sky feel and he was so worried about Sarah Jane that he wasn’t sure how much he could take. But he had to keep it together.

\- - -

A couple of days later

\- - -

Clara sat down in front of the television with her bowl of cereal. She turned up the volume to hear the television over the TARDIS engines before relaxing into the couch. She watched the news as she ate.

“And now we are going to go to the press conference for the missing journalist, Sarah Jane Smith.” The news reporter said, “Miss Smith’s son and daughter with the police constable are walking up to the podium now to begin the conference.”

Clara wasn’t paying too much attention to the conference. She knew the name rung a bell but because she was a journalist, Clara assumed she must have just read an article or watched a news report with her name on it. That was until they showed a picture of the missing woman.

It was the woman from the flower shop. She gave her the Doctor’s number. She never told Clara her name but when Clara began travelling with the Doctor, she knew she was very important to him. She had seen the photos of her around the TARDIS with his different faces. Clara always thought she was beautiful and hoped that one day, they would meet her again. She didn’t expect it to be like this.

“Clara!” The Doctor shouted from the console room, “Where’s my screwdriver? I can’t find it.” Clara didn’t reply. She was too busy watching the television, “Clara? Where are you?” The Doctor then walked into the kitchen, “Are you not talking to me all of a sudden?”

“Doctor, look.” Clara pointed to the television.

The Doctor looked up to the television and noticed Luke and a younger girl on the television. He realised it was a press conference and he was confused. He walked around the couch, joining Clara. He read the headline and realised what was going on. Sarah Jane was missing. But how? How could she be missing? This couldn’t be true.

Clara noticed the slight shift in the Doctor’s behaviour as he watched the television. She didn’t know how much Sarah Jane meant to him but it was clear that this bothered him a lot. He suddenly shot up and headed straight to the console room.

“Doctor?” Clara put her bowl down on the table as she ran after him, “Doctor?”

The Doctor didn’t reply as he turned knobs and dials, almost erratically. Both his hearts were beating hard and fast in his chest and Clara could hear his breath hitch.

“Doctor?” Clara walked over to him, her hand resting on his shoulder as his breathing relaxed slightly, “It’s alright.”

“She’s my best friend.” He said quietly, “I need to find her. I need to.”

“Okay.” Clara nodded, “We’ll go.”

The Doctor continued turning controls and Clara played with her fingers. She watched the cloister bell move and she felt her stomach do somersaults.

“She was the woman in the flower shop, you know.” Clara said softly.

“What?” The Doctor turned.

“She gave me your number.” Clara explained, “She never told me her name though. I only recognised her because of that and the photos you have around the TARDIS.”

“Sarah Jane is very special to me,” The Doctor explained. Clara wasn’t sure of the context of that, “And very smart. She probably knew you were meant to be with me.”

Clara said nothing as the Doctor continued to turn knobs. Finally, the TARDIS landed. The Doctor leaned on the console, Clara standing next to him. She had never seen the Doctor this nervous before. She watched as the Doctor looked to the TARDIS doors before standing up straight.

“Right.” He sorted his lapels, “Let’s go.”

The two walked up to the doors and the Doctor left first. Clara followed behind.

“Doctor?” Rani stood in the large room they were in.

Out of all the places Clara had been to, this attic was the strangest and most interesting. There was a large supercomputer built into the wall, a metal robotic dog and thousands of alien artifacts spread around the room. She couldn’t really believe there were places like this on Earth.

“What happened?” The Doctor asked. He clearly wasn’t going to explain that he had regenerated again, “How did this happen?”

“We have no clue.” Rani shook her head.

“Sky just woke up one morning and she had vanished.” Clyde explained, “She didn’t even go to bed that night.”

“Who’s Sky?” The Doctor asked.

“Sarah Jane’s daughter.” Rani replied, “She adopted her a year after we saw you last. She was going to be used as a bomb against the Metalkind by the Fleshkind but we stopped it.”

“Fleshkind?” The Doctor asked.

“They’re from the Tornado Nebula.” Mr. Smith added.

“Oh yes.” The Doctor rubbed his head, “Of course. Well, that doesn’t surprise me. Sarah Jane’s always adopting children.” He then turned to Sanjay, “Are you new one too?”

“I’m Sanjay.” Sanjay held his hand out, “I’m Luke’s boyfriend… well, fiancé.”

“Luke’s gay?” The Doctor asked with a shocked look. He then smiled, “Good for him. Good for the both of you.” He turned to Clara, “Oh, this is Clara. She’s travelling with me. Clara, this is Clyde and Rani, Mr. Smith, K-9 and Sanjay but you already heard his name.”

“Hello.” Clara smiled.

“Nice to meet you.” Rani smiled.

“Hiya.” Clyde acknowledged her.

“How did you find out about all of this?” Rani asked as she crossed her arms.

“Clara was watching the news. She’s met Sarah before and recognised her.” The Doctor pointed back to her, “That’s who the little girl is? That’s Sky?”

“Yeah.” Rani nodded.

Rani then explained what was happening with the investigation whilst Clyde saw his phone ringing. It was Luke. He left the attic and answered it.

“Hey, that’s us coming home now.” Luke said as he drove his Beatle. His phone was in it’s holder whilst Sky sat in the passenger seat.

“Okay.” Clyde replied, “Um, Luke, you’re not gonna believe this but…” Clyde found himself very nervous to tell him.

“But what?” Luke asked. Had they found something that could lead them to his mum? He had to know, “What, Clyde?”

“The Doctor’s here.”


	2. Eighteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Clara arrive at Bannerman Road and try to locate Sarah Jane.

Luke was very surprised to see the Doctor there but he was also very thankful to see him. Luke was scared that if something even worse had happened to his mum, he had no idea of how he would get a hold of the Doctor but now he was here, he knew he wouldn’t go until they found Sarah Jane. Sky was very nervous meeting the Doctor. She remembered Sarah Jane telling her all about the Doctor and what an amazing man he was. The Doctor couldn’t have been nicer to Sky and it was a comfort to know he was just as amazing as her mother’s words.

For the next couple of days, they all tried their best to search for clues as to where Sarah Jane could be. Luke, Sky and Sanjay would go out for searches with the police whilst Clyde and Rani stayed at the attic with the Doctor and Clara. Kate Stewart and UNIT were helping with the investigation and gave any updates they had to Luke. They tried to make a list of all the enemies they could think of but it was difficult because there were so many. Thankfully, some old friends of Sarah Jane’s reached out like Nat Redfern and Josh Townsend to give any information they could.

It had been four days now since Sarah Jane disappeared and the Doctor sat at Sarah Jane’s desk as he looked through her papers. He felt like he was invading her privacy but there was not much he could do otherwise. Rani put down a mug of coffee for him on the side before joining Clyde at the couch who was looking through more papers. Clara walked out of the TARDIS to see the Doctor at the desk.

“Are you alright?” Clara asked quietly.

“Yes.” The Doctor nodded, not lifting his head from the papers. It seemed as though he was putting the universe on hold to find Sarah Jane. Clara knew he loved his friends but she never expected this.

Clara just decided to accept his answer and joined Clyde and Rani. It felt like they were not getting anywhere with their own investigation and they all expected the worst.

“Mr. Smith,” The Doctor stood up, “Can you rerun scans of any alien activity on the night and morning Sarah Jane disappeared. You too, K-9.”

“Yes, Doctor.” Mr. Smith accepted his command.

“Analysing.” K-9 announces the start of his scan.

“Doctor, I don’t know how many times we can analyse for aliens.” Clara said, “We have done this everyday since we got here.”

“Shush.” The Doctor said, wagging his hand at her.

“No life forms detected.” Mr. Smith said, K-9 confirming after him.

The Doctor just nodded by sat down on the steps in front of Mr. Smith. He held his head in hands, trying to think of where Sarah Jane could be. She could be anywhere. All he wanted was to have her back home and for her to be okay. He sighed as a framed photo of Sarah Jane and him in his tenth body caught his eye. Clara, Clyde and Rani watched as he got up and walked over to the photo. He picked it up from the table and studied the picture for a moment. He was so fixated on Sarah Jane, almost looking at it like it would magically bring her back, that he didn’t even recognise his other body in the photo.

“Is he alright?” Clyde asked quietly.

“I don’t know.” Clara shook her head, “I’ve never seen him like this. I think this has really affected him.”

The Doctor heard the three behind him talking but he wasn’t paying attention. He was too interested in looking at Sarah Jane’s beautiful face. He wished she was here. He just wanted to hold her tight in his arms and never let her go. Just to be sure she was safe, it was all he wanted.

His thoughts were interrupted by the attic door opening to Luke, Sky and Sanjay coming in. They talked to the others and all the Doctor really could make out was that there wasn’t much to update on. The Doctor put the picture back on the table but he still looked at it. Slowly, he returned back to reality as he turned to look at the others. He didn’t have much to say and decided to sit back down at the steps again.

“I feel like there’s not much for us to do now.” Luke sat back on the couch.

“Don’t say that.” Rani tried to reassure him, “We’ll find her. There is no way Sarah Jane would just disappear. There has to be a reason.”

“But what is that reason, Rani?” Luke asked, “We’ve looked through everything. Not even Mr. Smith or K-9 can find anything.” Luke sighed, “We have totally ran out of options.”

“We don’t know that for sure.” Clyde tried, “Remember, Maria and her dad are looking for stuff too. We’re not alone in this.”

“And they still haven’t found anything either.” Luke replied. He then got up, “I need to be alone for a while. I’m gonna go for a walk.”

They all watched as Luke walked out the attic. They didn’t know what to do but they knew they had to leave Luke to just be on his own.

“Can’t we use the TARDIS to find mum?” Sky asked as she sat next to the Doctor on the steps, pulling him out of his trance.

“She wouldn’t be able to track her.” The Doctor replied.

“But you must be able to do something?” Sky asked.

“I can’t.” The Doctor shook his head as he looked at the young girl, “I’m sorry, Sky. I would if I could but I can’t.”

Sky didn’t say anything as she looked at the Time Lord. She had no clue what to say or do at the moment. How could he not find her mum? He was the Doctor. He could do anything. Right?

There was a moment of silence before Mr. Smith started talking.

“I’m receiving a series of coordinates from an unknown source.” Mr. Smith said.

“Show us.” The Doctor shot up.

The others walked over to Mr. Smith as he started to read out the coordinates.

“Eighteen, twenty one, two, twenty five, twenty three, eight, nine, twenty, five.”

“What?” Clyde said, totally confused.

“Mr. Smith, where are these coordinates from?” Rani asked, “Do they lead to anywhere?”

“I don’t think they’re coordinates.” The Doctor said, “Mr. Smith, go through the alphabet.”

“What do you mean ‘go through the alphabet’?” Clara asked, “How is this going to help us?”

“Those numbers could tell us where Sarah Jane is.” The Doctor pointed, “Some aliens like to give us riddles.

“R, U, B, Y.” Mr. Smith spelled out. Clyde and Rani’s stomachs dropped, “W, H, I, T, E.”

“Ruby White?” The Doctor asked, “Who’s Ruby White?”

“She was Qetesh.” Rani explained, “She fed off Sarah Jane a couple of years ago. She started losing her memory.”

“Qetesh. That is not good news.” The Doctor said, “Mr. Smith, can you trace where this came from?”

“Tracing.” Mr. Smith said, “Source not found.”

“Damn it.” The Doctor huffed before going up the steps, “What happened after Ruby appeared? How did you get Sarah back?”

“Mr. Smith warned Clyde but she sent him up to her prison pod and he almost suffocated. When we got him back, we then ran down to Old Forest Road where Ruby had bought a house and Sarah Jane was in the basement where Ruby’s stomach was.” Rani explained.

“Stomach?!” Clara asked.

“The Qetesh look like humans but their stomachs are separate from their bodies.” The Doctor replied, “They feed off excitement and it totally drains the people they’re feeding from. Soul-stealers as they’re known around the galaxy. How did you stop her?”

“Luke was home from uni and Ruby had this game console that she programmed to make a fake video of Sarah Jane saying she was leaving. Luke managed to make Mr. White send fake asteroids down onto the rest of the world to make Ruby’s stomach grow and it exploded and Sarah Jane got all her energy back.” Clyde replied.

“We need to call Luke.” Sky said, “He needs to see this.”

“I’ll call him.” Sanjay nodded, taking his phone out.

Sanjay called Luke and soon, Luke came back to the house. They tried to figure out how Ruby would have escaped her prison pod. Luke also got in touch with Kate and Maria to see if they could also trace where the coordinates came from but they couldn’t find anything.

As the day went on, they all felt like they had hit a brick wall again. It felt as though they weren’t getting anywhere. Until Mr. Smith received more coordinates. He read them out and then explained where it was.

“Aridius.” The Doctor said quietly.

“Is that a planet?” Clara asked.

“Yes.” The Doctor nodded, “It used to be totally covered in oceans but it’s orbit around it’s suns has turned it into a desert planet. Why the hell would she take her there?”

“How do we know that’s where mum is though?” Luke asked.

“Why else would we receive those coordinates?” The Doctor asked before turning to Mr. Smith once more, “Mr. Smith, where exactly on Aridius do those coordinates lead to?”

Mr. Smith went through the coordinates before showing a photo of a large derelict building.

“The coordinates lead to this building. It is a part of the old Aridian city.” Mr. Smith explained.

“Right,” The Doctor ran up the steps to the TARDIS, “Mr. Smith, send those coordinates to the TARDIS. We need to go.”

“Let’s go then.” Sky said.

“No, Sky, you stay here.” Luke turned to Sky.

“Why?”

“Because your powers could mess with the TARDIS. Mum would also not be happy with you being on another planet.”

“Mr. Smith and K-9 are still around, aren’t they? Besides, she’s my mum too.”

Luke paused. He knew it was wrong for stopping her.

“Okay.” He just nodded and let Sky go into the TARDIS with the Doctor and Clara.

“We’re coming too.” Clyde announced with Rani beside him.

“But what about the Judoon?” Luke asked.

“What about the Judoon?” The Doctor asked.

“We got grounded by the Judoon for locking Captain Tybo in a lab when Sarah Jane was possessed by Androvax.” Rani rolled her eyes.

“Well, if they show up, they’ll be able to get a hold of Ruby, won’t they?” The Doctor said. He then gestured to the TARDIS, “Come on. Let’s go.”

The couple went into the TARDIS before Luke turned to Sanjay.

“Come on.” Luke said, holding his hand out to his fiancé.

“No. You go. I’ll stay here.” Sanjay replied, “You need someone to hold down the fort.”

“Are you sure?” Luke asked.

“Positive.” Sanjay nodded, “Now, go save your mum.”

Luke tried a smile before kissing his lips. He didn’t want to leave Sanjay on his own but he understood why he wanted to stay.

“I love you.” Luke said.

“I love you too.” Sanjay said, “Be careful.”

“Don’t worry.” The Doctor said as Luke walked up to the TARDIS. He put his hand on his shoulder, “He’s in very capable hands.”


	3. Aridius

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor, Clara and the Bannerman Road gang travel to Aridius to find Sarah Jane.

“Right,” The Doctor walked around the console as he turned knobs and hit buttons, “To Aridius.”

The others looked around at one another as the TARDIS shook as it began to materialise. Clyde and Rani stood together as they watched the Doctor fly the ship. Luke could not help but pace slightly around the console room, worried about his mum and what they were in store for. Clara noticed Sky sitting on one of the small staircases as she played with a bobble in her fingers. She walked over to her, deciding to join her.

“You okay?” Clara asked quietly.

“Yeah.” Sky nodded, “I’m just worried about my mum.”

“I understand. She’ll be alright though, Sky.” Clara replied, “The Doctor will help her. I mean, Luke, Clyde and Rani said they met this Ruby before. They know how to defeat her.”

“I feel like this time is different. It’s more serious than the last time. And I think that was bad enough.”

“I know but things will be alright. I don’t know your mum very well but I do know that she’s strong and I’m sure she will be okay.”

“I hope so.” Sky said softly.

The TARDIS shook a little more as they travelled. Clara noticed that Sky looked nervous as she lifted her head to look at the others.

“Hey, it’s alright.” Clara soothed, “It’s only a little turbulence. It’s like being on an aeroplane.”

They then felt the TARDIS land as the engines quieted down. The Doctor looked at the monitor, making sure they were exactly where they needed to be.

“Have we arrived?” Luke asked.

“Yes.” The Doctor replied, walking past him, “Let’s go. And stay together, we have no clue what’s on the other side of these doors.”

They all nodded before following behind the Doctor. He opened the door and stepped out into the vast deserts of Aridius. It was warm and the two suns all shone down on them. They all looked around, unsure where to start. Rani noticed Clyde put his hands on his hips, a sigh leaving his mouth.

“What’s wrong?” Rani asked.

“I’m a bit space sick.” Clyde replied, “I’ll be fine. It’ll pass.” Clyde continued before he felt himself gag slightly, “In a minute.”

Rani couldn’t help chuckling but rubbed her boyfriend’s back softly to soothe him. It did seem to help as he seemed to relax, taking a couple of deep breaths.

“Where is the city?” Luke asked, “There’s nothing here.”

The Doctor looked around before going behind the TARDIS.

“There.” He pointed.

They all turned there were the huge ruins of the Aridian city.

“Woah.” Clyde looked with wide eyes.

“It’s beautiful.” Rani added.

“You should have seen it when the water was here.” The Doctor replied, “Come on. We need to move.”

They all headed towards the city. It didn’t take long for them to reach the city and as they entered, they were totally in awe of the architecture of the city. It was totally abandoned and it was eerie how quiet it was.

“That’s our destination.” The Doctor pointed to the large temple in front of them. It was quite far away but it would not have taken long to walk to it.

They all continued to walk. As they moved closer to their destination, Luke felt his stomach get tighter and tighter with each step. He had no clue what state his mum would be in or if she would even be there. All he wanted was for Sarah Jane to be okay and out of harm’s way.

The whole city was quiet but as they continued, there was some sort of mechanical sound nearby. The Doctor stopped, making everyone stop.

“What is it?” Clara asked.

“Shh.” The Doctor hushed, his index finger over his mouth, “Did you hear that?”

“What was it?” Sky asked.

“I don’t know. Something mechanical. Something moving nearby.” The Doctor replied quietly. The sound came up again, “There it is again.”

The six looked around, wondering where the sound was coming from. The sound grew closer and slowly, a Dalek came out and faced them.

“Get down!” The Doctor shouted, running to a nearby wall.

They all followed after him, crouching down.

“I should have known.” The Doctor said, “They were here the last time I was here. I should have left you all at home.”

“No way. We weren’t going to let you get mum on your own.” Luke replied.

“Your mother will kill me if she finds out I brought you to a planet with Daleks.” The Doctor huffed, “We need to get past them quickly and quietly. Stay behind me.”

The Doctor got up slowly and tried to stay in the shadows, everyone else following behind them. They were aware of the Dalek moving down the vicinity and they thought they had made it as they got around the Dalek but suddenly, it spun around and started shouting at them.

“Exterminate!” The Dalek blared, “Exterminate!”

“Run!” The Doctor shouted.

They all ran towards the ruins but soon, more Daleks appeared. There had to be around five Daleks in total. They practically sprinted to the ruins but Clyde felt himself trip up.

“Clyde!” Rani turned. She watched as the Daleks closed in on him and she was about to run down the steps to get back to him.

Clyde’s heart hammered in his chest, he held his hands up in surrender, not bothering to get up.

“Exterminate!” The Daleks all shouted, “Exterminate!”

“I’m sorry.” Clyde looked to Rani. Rani tried to run to him but the Doctor held onto her, not wanting her to also get killed.

Clyde closed his eyes as the Daleks shot their blasters but instead of being shot, the only pain he felt was his slightly twisted ankle. To be honest, he didn’t totally believe he was still alive until he heard Rani’s voice.

“Clyde!” Rani ran down the steps and crouched next to him.

“Rani.” He said quietly as he hugged her tightly. She kissed his cheek, happy he was okay.

They noticed the Daleks were still around them as they looked up. The Doctor stood beside them, holding his sonic screwdriver up to the robots. He pressed the button and the Daleks seemed to glitch like video game characters and then disappeared.

“They weren’t real?” Clara asked.

“No.” The Doctor replied, “She’s playing tricks with us. You said she can manipulate technology, right?”

“Yeah, she reprogrammed a video game console that was in her prison ship.” Rani explained.

“She’s using it to warn us.” The Doctor said, “Or making us get past obstacles for her entertainment.”

The Doctor helped Rani get Clyde up before dusting the dirt of Clyde’s shoulder.

“So what do we do?” Luke asked, “Just ignore them?”

“No. We have to stay together. We don’t know what’s real and what’s not. We can’t take any risks. We almost lost Clyde just there so that shows how dangerous this is.” The Doctor replied.

Luke just nodded. The Doctor walked up the steps, leading them into the large ruins. Luke went up to Clyde, Sky following behind him.

“You alright?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Clyde nodded, “Just a bit shaken. I’m fine.”

Luke patted his best friend’s shoulder before following after the Doctor and Clara. As they entered, they realised how large the temple was. They were met with a large staircase and the roof was pretty much destroyed as the two suns shone down onto them. They went up the stairs, and down a long corridor. As they walked, they heard the sound of machines and alien technology. The Doctor made sure they were all close to each other as they finally entered the room.

The room was filled with alien technology. There were screens on one of the walls that showed different points of view of the city. As they looked across the room, they noticed Sarah Jane sitting against the wall. She was shackled and looked like she was asleep. She wore the same clothes she wore the night she disappeared. It was exactly like how she was when Clyde and Rani found her in Ruby’s basement except she looked a lot more ill. Her face was pale and she was sweating a lot, her chest rising and falling fast.

“Mum!” Luke exclaimed as he and Sky ran up to Sarah Jane.

Clara was shocked to see Sarah Jane like this. Though she only met her once briefly, she looked very different from the woman she met. She worried that there wouldn’t be much they could do and her heart broke not only for her kids and Clyde and Rani but also the Doctor.

“Nice to see you could finally make it.”

They all turned to see Ruby standing there with an evil grin. The Doctor could feel his blood boil as he saw Ruby. He wanted to ruin the woman for doing this to his Sarah Jane. Clara noticed how the Doctor’s face shifted and she actually felt scared for what he was going to do next.

“And Doctor, it’s so nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much.” Ruby said menacingly, “It’ll be nice to have you watch Sarah Jane die and then devour and each and everyone of you.”

“You let my mum go now!” Sky stepped forward, Luke grabbing onto his little sister’s arms.

“Ah, Sky. The new addition to the family.” Ruby said, “Or shall I say your replacement, Luke?”

“You leave her alone.” Luke said.

Ruby just chuckled.

“We really enjoyed the Daleks.” The Doctor said, “It was a shame there weren't any more tricks up your sleeve, or was that too much excitement for you?”

“I underestimated you, Doctor.” Ruby pointed, “Sarah Jane told me of what an amazing and almighty Time Lord you were but I thought she was just a lonely woman in love with a man that could never love her but boy,” She laughed, “You are something.”

“And you underestimate my Sarah. She is strong and she will defeat you.” The Doctor stepped forward, “You don’t need her. You can let her go. There is so much more excitement in the world, why come back to her?”

“Because I want to see Sarah Jane destroyed once and for all and who better to do it than me.” Ruby replied, “Besides, she’s not doing a very good job of defeating me. She’s almost done.” Ruby walked past them all, looking down at Sarah Jane before going near a large curtain, “I’ve got someone who wants to say hello.”

She pulled back the curtain and there was Ruby’s stomach. She seemed to have grown it back and it was growing larger. The red blob had a small mouth on it with sharp teeth and it leaned forward, trying to bite the others. They stepped back as Ruby laughed.

“Once I’m done with her which will be in,” Ruby looked at her watch, “Hm, about thirty minutes, I will devour each and every one of you before I move onto Earth and then the next planet.”

“I don’t think so.” The Doctor stepped forward, “You want excitement? Take me. You don’t need Sarah. I have all the excitement you need.” He held his arms out, “Go on. Do it. Feed from me. I have seen so many things. Daleks, Cybermen, Ice Warriors, Zygons. I’ve had so many bodies, seen so many worlds die and I have lost every friend I had. Think of all the regeneration energy you could have. It would be endless.” The Doctor seemed to grow angrier. The others were worried as they watched, unsure of what he was going to do, “I have lived a twelve lifetimes and more and you can have it all and you can let her go! I don’t care what happens to me in the process, you want thrills, you’ve got it right here in me, not in her.”

Ruby walked up to the Doctor slowly before starting to clap loud but slow. Once she was directly in front of him, she smirked.

“Trying to prove something, Time Lord?” Ruby asked.

“There’s something else you underestimate about me and Sarah Jane. I don’t need to prove anything to her. I love her more than you can imagine.” The Doctor replied before aiming his sonic screwdriver at the shackles around Sarah Jane’s wrists and then at the technology on his other side.

The technology sparked as the cameras showed different holograms of aliens on the screen. It was like they were all at battle and Ruby held her head as she started to scream in pain. They all watched as the stomach grew larger and larger like it had done before. White sparks flew from Ruby’s head. Though it wasn’t like last time where they had the entire population of Earth, this seemed to be enough to destroy Ruby. Or at least her stomach.

The shocks from her body then aimed at her stomach as that deflated. She lay on the ground, as weak as Sarah Jane was. She panted, looking up to the others.

“I’m getting out of the way.” Clyde moved, “I’m not having that thing splurge on me again.”

As the stomach deflated and the sparks sent Sarah Jane her energy back to her body, the Judoon entered the room.

“Oh great.” Clyde turned as he nudged Rani’s arm, “That’s us in the galactic cells.”

The Judoon spoke in their language, wanting to arrest Rani and Clyde but the Doctor stepped in.

“No, no, hold on!” The Doctor stopped them, “You are not arresting them. You shouldn’t have grounded them in the first place.”

“They imprisoned a Judoon captain.” The Judoon in front of the Doctor replied.

“Yeah, in a bloody lab!” The Doctor rolled his eyes, “There’s someone you should be arresting!” He pointed to Ruby, “Qetesh, tried to kill my friend and has killed many, many more.”

The Judoon took Ruby away and the Doctor quickly got Rani and Clyde’s grounding sorted but there was something wrong.

“Doctor?” Clara said.

“What?” The Doctor asked.

“It’s mum.” Luke replied, “She won’t move. She’s too weak.”

The Doctor rushed over to Sarah Jane. It seemed that though she got her energy back, it wasn’t enough to help her straight away.

“How long have we got?” The Doctor asked.

“Fifteen minutes.” Luke checked his watch.

The Doctor nodded as he picked up Sarah Jane in a bridal lift, keeping her close to him. He watched as her eyes fluttered a little, her breath slightly erratic against his neck. Clara noticed how he handled Sarah Jane with such care. It was so obvious that he loved her, one way or another.

“Doctor.” Sarah Jane said so weakly. The Doctor was surprised he actually heard her voice.

“I’m here.” The Doctor replied softly before he looked up to the others. His tone changed, “Let’s go. Now.”

They all left the temple, running as fast as they could to reach the TARDIS. The Doctor was the last one in the TARDIS as Luke shut the door behind him.

“Clara, keep an eye on the TARDIS. She knows where to go.” The Doctor said, feeling his arms grow tired from holding Sarah Jane. He then turned to Luke, “How long have we got?”

“Three minutes.” Luke replied.

The Doctor just nodded and ran as fast as he could to the Zero Room. Once he reached the room, he lay Sarah Jane on a bed in the room. He looked around the room, hoping the TARDIS would help her herself.

“Come on,” The Doctor looked over to the small monitor that showed Sarah Jane’s heart rate, “Come on.”

Slowly, the TARDIS got Sarah Jane’s heart rate under control. He watched as the colour slowly returned to Sarah Jane’s face and she wasn’t breathing so fast. He took a deep breath as he knelt down next to the bed, taking Sarah Jane’s hand in his. He wasn’t sure how long she would be out for but slowly, her eyes started to flutter. He felt his eyes bubble with tears as he watched her open her eyes slowly. She turned to him as he smiled at her.

“Doctor?” She said softly again.

“Hello, Sarah Jane.” He smiled.

“Where am I?”

“The Zero Room.”

“Oh.” She replied as she looked around her. She then looked back to him, raising her hand weakly as she cupped his face, “This is new.”

“Quite new.” The Doctor chuckled as he held her hand that was on his cheek, “Do you like it?”

“Very much. I always like your faces.” Sarah Jane replied, “You seemed to have a good taste in faces.”

“I’m glad you think so.” The Doctor grinned, “How are you feeling?”

“Like hell.” Sarah Jane replied as she moved her hand from his cheek, “Are we going home?”

“Yes. You just rest, okay? I need to check the TARDIS is taking us back to Bannerman Road and not Aberdeen.” The Doctor stood up.

“That was your doing, not hers.” Sarah Jane said with fake bitterness.”

“I’ll be back in a minute.” The Doctor chuckled.

“Wait!” She grabbed his hand, “Don’t go. Stay with me.”

“I’ll be back, I promise.” He stroked her hand gently, “I won’t be long.”

Sarah Jane had a look on her face like she was about to cry but the Doctor kissed her head softly to soothe her.

“I’ll be right back.” He said quietly.

Sarah Jane watched as the Time Lord left the room and sighed. She didn’t want to be alone. Especially not right now.

The Doctor headed through to the console room. The others sat around the console, all wearing worried looks on their faces.

“How is she?” Luke shot up from where he was sitting on one of the steps.

“She’s okay.” The Doctor replied. There was a collective sigh of relief, “We just need to let her rest. She’s still quite weak.”

“Can we go see her?” Rani asked.

“Maybe just let her rest a bit in the Zero Room. She’ll probably force herself to get up at some point, you know what she’s like.” The Doctor replied.

Rani nodded in reply. They were so thankful Sarah Jane was alright. The Doctor checked the monitor to make sure they were en route to Bannerman Road. As he pressed a few buttons and pulled a couple levers, he was aware of Sky coming up to him. He turned to look at the young girl and smiled.

“Hello, Sky.” He looked down to her, “You alright?”

Sky nodded but instead of saying anything, she hugged the Doctor. In this body, he wasn’t very big on hugging but when Sky hugged him, he didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he hugged her back as he looked to Clara who watched on. She chuckled at the slightly shocked look on his face but she was so happy to see him like this.

The Doctor soon headed back to the Zero Room. When he entered, he wasn’t surprised to see Sarah Jane getting up from the bed.

“Sarah, no.” He rushed over to her, “You need to rest.”

“I’m fine, Doctor.” She replied, getting up from the bed but she almost collapsed.

The Doctor caught her quickly. He held her close as he brought her back to the bed.

“I think you should listen to me more often.” The Doctor said.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Sarah Jane asked with a small smirk.

The Doctor chuckled as he helped Sarah Jane back onto the bed. He smiled down to her when he knew she was comfortable.

“Will you stay?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Of course.” He took her hand in his, “I’m not going anywhere. Besides, I think we have a lot to catch up on, don’t you?”


	4. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah Jane is home and the Doctor stays to look after her.

When they got back to Bannerman Road, Sarah Jane had a shower and went to bed to catch some sleep. Luke called Kate Stewart to tell her Sarah Jane was home and to develop a cover story that the police could inform the press with. Clyde and Rani called their parents to tell them Sarah Jane was home before they skyped Maria and Alan to let them know too.

Clyde was cooking dinner downstairs with Clara whilst Sanjay and Rani set the table. The Doctor, Luke and Sky were in the attic, making sure everything had been finally sorted. Sky left the attic, deciding to go check up on her mum. She went downstairs and knocked softly on Sarah Jane’s bedroom door. She then opened the door and poked her head into the dim room. Sarah Jane was in the bed, clearly still asleep but she started to stir. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Sky.

“Hey.” Sarah Jane said softly.

“Hi.” Sky replied, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No, it’s okay.” Sarah Jane replied, “Come in.”

Sky smiled before entering the room. She shut the door behind her as Sarah Jane moved over to make space for Sky. Sky kicked off her trainers and joined her mum on the bed. When Sky got into the bed, she cuddled into Sarah Jane, so thankful to be finally in her arms.

“Are you feeling better?” Sky asked. As she looked at her mum, she wasn’t totally used to seeing Sarah Jane with her natural curly hair and fresh face but she still looked so beautiful.

“Yes. Much better.” Sarah Jane replied. She looked down to Sky, pushing her hair out of her face, “You were so brave these past few days. I’m so proud of you. And I’m so sorry this had to happen.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Sky cuddled into Sarah Jane, her head resting on her chest, “I’m just glad you’re home now.”

Sarah Jane chuckled.

“Me too.” Sarah Jane replied.

There was another soft knock at the door that made the two look to the door.

“Come in.” Sarah Jane called.

The door opened and Luke stood there. He wore a small smile as he noticed his mum and his little sister lying on the bed together.

“Dinner’s ready.” Luke said, “Do you want me to bring it up?”

“Nope.” Sarah Jane sat up and got off the bed with Sky, “I’ll come down.” She grabbed her dressing gown and wrapped it around her body before going up to Luke, tapping his shoulder, “Remember, Luke, I’m not an invalid.”

Luke chuckled and the family all went downstairs to the living room where everyone was eating in front of the television.

Everyone turned to see Sarah Jane walk into the living room. They were all so happy to have Sarah Jane home and so happy for her to be okay. She was still quite weak but she was already on the road to recovery. Sarah Jane sat in between the Doctor and Rani as Clara handed Sarah Jane her tray of food.

“Thank you.” Sarah Jane smiled.

Clara smiled back before going to sit on the other couch next to Sanjay. It wasn’t a grand celebratory dinner for Sarah Jane but she couldn’t think of anything better for her to come home too, especially with having the Doctor here too.

“You okay?” The Doctor asked quietly.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Sarah Jane smiled, “Couldn’t be better.”

The Doctor and Clara stayed for a few more days at Bannerman Road as Sarah Jane got better. The Doctor didn’t want to leave until he knew Sarah Jane was okay, both physically and mentally. Sarah Jane would have nightmares about what she went through and the Doctor was always there to make sure she was okay.

Sarah Jane was having a nap in her bedroom whilst everyone else was in the attic. They were doing the daily checks but suddenly, they heard a scream from downstairs. The Doctor instantly rushed out of the attic, Luke, Sky and Clara following behind him. 

They reached Sarah Jane’s bedroom and there she lay on the bed, practically curled up in a ball as she cried. The Doctor went over to her, sitting on the bed.

“Hey, hey.” The Doctor said softly, taking her into his arms, “Shh, shh. You’re safe. She’s not coming back. You’re safe.”

Luke, Sky and Clara watched on as the Doctor held Sarah Jane. He kissed her forehead as he looked over to them. He was about to shoo them away when Sarah Jane broke from his arms and rushed to her ensuite bathroom. She lifted her toilet seat as she threw up. The Doctor followed her, pulling her hair out of her face. He rubbed her back as she continued to cry softly.

“Sky, can you go get your mum a glass of water?” He asked.

Sky just nodded and rushed down to the kitchen for some water. Luke and Clara watched on, feeling a little helpless to the situation.

“Is there anything I should do?” Luke asked.

“No, it’s okay.” The Doctor nodded, “I’ve got it covered.”

Luke just nodded and decided to go back up to the attic. Sky then soon returned with Sarah Jane’s water before the Doctor told her she could go back to the attic. Clara still stood in the bedroom as she watched the Doctor comforting Sarah Jane. Though she knew the Doctor was very caring, this seemed so different to Clara. She couldn’t put her finger on it but she knew that there weren't a lot of things the Doctor wouldn’t do for Sarah.

Clara decided to leave the two to give them privacy. When Sarah Jane stopped vomiting, the Doctor helped her drink the water. He wiped away her tears as she drank, pushing her hair out of her face.

“I could help you forget, Sarah.” The Doctor offered, “I could make this all better for you.”

“No.” She said softly, “I don’t want to forget. I can’t forget. That’s not fair.”

“How’s it not fair? Look at what she did to you. Look at what you’re going through. It’s not fair on you.”

“And so many experience worse than me and they have to remember that. I’ll be okay, I just need time. Besides, I need to remember. For Earth’s sake.”

“But the kids know what Qetesh are. You have Mr. Smith, you have K-9, you have me. I don't want you to hold onto this trauma because you feel like you have a duty to do so.”

“Because I do have a duty, Doctor.” Sarah Jane slightly snapped. She then sighed, rubbing her head that now was sore from all the stress. She looked back up to him, “How many nightmares have I had about Daleks and Cybermen and Sontarans and God knows what else? How many have you had? If it were you, you wouldn’t forget. I know you wouldn’t.”

“There are some things I wish could forget.” The Doctor looked down.

“So do I but,” She took his hands, “We can’t forget all the bad things. What would life be without the hard stuff, huh?”

“I suppose you’re right.” The Doctor nodded.

“I’m always right.” She chuckled.

“Well.” He said in a sarcastic tone as he looked up to the ceiling.

Sarah Jane gasped as she nudged his arm. The two chuckled.

“Cheek.” She said softly. Sarah Jane then itched her head as she looked around her, “I better have a shower, eh?”

“Yes.” The Doctor nodded nervously as he stood up quickly. He put the toilet seat down, flushing it, “I’ll just flush this.”

“Thanks.” She smiled. The Doctor was about to leave when she stopped him, “Doctor?”

“Yeah?” He turned back to her.

“Thank you. You don’t know how much I appreciate having you here. You’ve helped me so much.” Sarah Jane thanked him.

“Anything for my best friend.” The Doctor smiled.

Sarah Jane smiled up to the Doctor. She then stood on her tiptoes, kissing his cheek softly. The Doctor was sort of stuck on the spot because he felt like he couldn’t move. He just watched as Sarah Jane went to grab her toothbrush. She looked back up to him and he soon realised he should have left by now.

“Oh, sorry.” The Doctor said, “I’m gonna um, I’m gonna go up to the attic.”

The Doctor left the ensuite bathroom, shutting the door behind him. When Sarah Jane knew he was gone, she chuckled before starting to brush her teeth.

A little later on, Clyde, Rani and Clara were in the attic whilst the Doctor was showing Sanjay around the TARDIS with Luke and Sky. Clyde was at his desk in the attic and was working on his Silver Bullet comics whilst Rani and Clara sat on the couch, drinking coffee.

“Can I ask you both something?” Clara asked.

“Yeah, of course.” Rani replied.

“The Doctor and Sarah Jane… were they ever, you know, together?” Clara asked.

“Honestly, we’re not sure.” Rani said, “Me and Clyde think they were or that there was definitely some feelings reciprocated between the two. I don’t know what Luke thinks about it though.”

“Rani once asked Mr. Smith but apparently it was all,” Clyde added before he did quotations with his fingers, “Strictly business.”

“No need to doubt me, Clyde.” Mr. Smith said sarcastically.

“Just sayin’.” Clyde shrugged before going back to his work.

“I’ve never seen him like that around someone. Maybe around Professor Song but he was married to her. I think she’s dead though.” Clara replied.

“Hmm.” Rani nodded as she took a sip of her coffee, “I think they both hide more than they let on.”

Before any of them could say anything, the attic door opened and Sarah Jane walked in. Her hair was air drying and going curly and she was in comfy clothes. She looked tired but a lot better than she did earlier.

“Hiya.” Rani smiled.

“Hello.” Sarah Jane said.

“How are you feeling?” Clara asked.

“Better. Much better.” Sarah Jane nodded before she frowned, “Where’s the others?”

“In the TARDIS. The Doctor’s showing Sanjay around.” Clyde pointed to the TARDIS.

“Why’s he not showing you two around?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Clara showed us around the other day.” Rani replied.

“Oh, well then.” Sarah Jane chuckled before going into the TARDIS, “I better see what they’re up to.”

She left the console room and went into the corridors. She walked down the long corridors as she followed the voices from one of the rooms. It was strange being this far into the TARDIS but Sarah Jane loved it. Finally, she reached the room where the voices were coming from. She looked into the room and noticed it was the TARDIS library. She walked in quietly, listening to the Doctor explain the different books and surroundings of the room. As he was talking, he noticed Sarah Jane standing at the door. He stopped and smiled at her.

“Hello.” The Doctor grinned, “Feeling better?”

“Much better.” She walked up to them, putting her arms around Luke and Sky, “So where have you taken them then? Have they seen the pool yet?”

“Yes.” The Doctor nodded, “We would have gone for a swim but they haven’t got their swimming costumes on.”

“And you do?” Sarah Jane asked.

“You’ve always got to be prepared.” The Doctor replied.

Sarah Jane chuckled before letting Luke and Sky look around with Sanjay. Sarah Jane and the Doctor stood together quietly. as they watched the three go around the library.

“You alright?” The Doctor asked quietly.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.” Sarah Jane nodded, “It’s strange being in here.”

“How come?”

“Well, I haven’t been this far into the TARDIS in a long time. It’s all changed.”

“Well, you know how she likes to do herself up from time to time.” The Doctor said, “Besides, you know you’re always welcome. I think she wouldn’t want you to feel strange with her.”

Sarah Jane giggled. Though it sounded ridiculous, Sarah Jane understood what the Doctor was talking about.

“Do you know where my room is?” Sarah Jane asked.

The Doctor grinned before taking her hand.

“I’ll take you.” The Doctor said before turning to Luke, Sky and Sanjay, “Come on, you three, we need to continue our tour.”

They walked down the corridor as the Doctor led them. He squeezed Sarah Jane’s hand as they walked. With every step, Sarah Jane felt even more excited to see her old room.

“Here we are.” The Doctor announced. He looked to Sarah Jane, “Ready?”

Sarah Jane nodded. The Doctor opened the door and there was Sarah Jane’s old room.

The room was large and the walls were very similar to the old TARDIS interior. There was a large rack of quite eclectic clothes (to say the least) with bookshelves. There was a desk with notebooks and papers everywhere. There was also a dressing table and the bed was up against the wall. There were photos all around the place and it was like the room was stuck in 1976. It was exactly how Sarah Jane left it.

“Luke, Sky, this is your mum’s room.” The Doctor held out his arms.

“Really?” Sky asked as she stood forward before looking at Sarah Jane.

“Mhm.” Sarah Jane nodded, “It hasn’t changed at all.”

“Not since you left.” The Doctor replied with a slightly sad smile.

Sarah Jane noticed his look and understood that tone. It was still a bit of a touchy subject when it came to Sarah Jane having to leave the TARDIS all those years ago. They then watched as Luke, Sky and Sanjay looked around the room. Luke looked at her desk with all her notes, Sky looked through the rack of clothes and Sanjay looked at the photos that were stuck around the dressing table. Sarah Jane and the Doctor still looked at one another and their hands clasped together. They didn’t break eye contact until Sanjay spoke.

“Oh my goodness.” Sanjay said as he looked at the pictures, “You look so young, Sarah Jane.”

“Oi.” Sarah Jane let go of the Doctor’s hand as she walked over to Sanjay. She nudged his arm, “Cheek.” She then chuckled before picking up a photo, “I guess I was very young.”

“Who’s that?” Sanjay pointed to a photo of a young Naval officer.

“Aww, that’s Harry. Harry Sullivan.” Sarah Jane smiled at the photo of her friend.

“Harry the imbecile.” The Doctor scoffed.

“Hey.” Sarah Jane turned to him, “Harry was lovely.”

“You used to shout at him all the time.”

“Well, he knew how to wind me up.”

“With two simple words; old-.”

“Don’t you dare!” Sarah Jane rushed over to the Doctor, covering his mouth with her hand.

She slowly moved her hand away from his mouth, unsure if he was going to say it or not. Instead, he just laughed and Sarah Jane sighed. She went back to Sanjay as he looked through more of the pictures.

“And who’s that?” Sanjay pointed.

“That’s me.” The Doctor looked over his shoulder.

“That’s you.” Sanjay asked, “The teeth and… curls?”

“Yes.” The Doctor said it like it was absurd, “Do you not recognise me?”

“That’s a totally different person.” Sanjay frowned.

“Sanjay, I told you, he can change his face.” Luke interrupted, “He is over two thousand two hundred years old.”

“Right on the dot, Lukey boy!” The Doctor grinned.

Sarah Jane just chuckled but Sanjay was still so shocked. She then picked up another photo of him in which the Doctor was in his third reincarnation.

“That’s him too.” Sarah Jane showed Sanjay the photo, “That was before he changed his face into that one though.”

“Oh yes. The dandy.” The Doctor scrunched up his face.

“Hey, don’t be like that. That was a nice face. And I liked his clothes.”

“I think I have better taste now.”

“Finally.” Sarah Jane raised her brows.

“You’ve gotten very snarky since I saw you last, Sarah Jane.” The Doctor turned to her.

“Me?” Sarah Jane asked innocently, “Never.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes before laughing.

“Mum?” Luke said.

“Uh huh?” Sarah Jane turned and joined him at the desk.

“Are these your drawings?” Luke asked. The papers on the desk were mostly notes from her reports but there were also drawings of all these different types of aliens.

“Oh.” Sarah Jane scratched the back of her head, “Yeah. Yeah, they are.”

“These are amazing, mum.” Luke smiled as he looked at the drawings, “I didn’t know you could draw like this. Clyde really has a run for his money here.”

“I was only doing these to keep a record of all the things I saw and if you take any of these and show Clyde, I will not be happy! I’ll never hear the end of how I should be an artist instead of a journalist.” Sarah Jane told Luke.

“Yes, mum.” Luke just smiled up to her, making her chuckle.

Sarah Jane stroked his hair as they looked through more of the drawings. She turned to look at the Doctor who was looking through some of the books and smiled to herself. It was odd being in this room again but it felt like coming home again. Like how it felt when she stepped in the TARDIS. This was her little sanctuary away from home. Whenever, wherever she was, this was her piece of normal life. She experienced so much in this room, so many laughs, nightmares, tears, kisses. But she didn’t think about that much, especially not with her children in the room. That was for another time.

“Mum?” Sky said, pulling Sarah Jane from her daydream.

“Yeah?” Sarah Jane didn’t lift her head from the drawing Luke was currently holding her hand.

“What is this?” Sky asked. Sarah Jane sensed a slight disgusted tone in her daughter’s voice but it wasn’t until she lifted her head that she understood.

Sky held a coat hanger that had a frilly light blue vest top on it, an equally as frilly short sleeved plaid shirt underneath it. Sarah Jane looked at Sky’s face and chuckled. She walked over to her as Sky handed it to her.

“So that’s where that went.” Sarah Jane looked at the clothes on the hanger, “I liked this outfit. I had a pair of trousers that went with that vest top.”

“I hope they weren’t frilly too.” Sky turned up her nose.

“I was very fashionable when I was travelling with the Doctor, Sky.” Sarah Jane hung up the top on the rack, “There’s loads of clothes here. I thought I took them all.”

“Well, it was quite short notice when you had to leave, Sarah.” The Doctor added, “You couldn’t have grabbed everything.”

Sarah Jane looked at the Doctor for a moment but quickly went back to the clothes rack.

“Wow!” Sky exclaimed as she picked up a white dress, “Is that a wedding dress?”

“No.” Sarah Jane laughed, “It’s just a dress. A very old dress.” She took the hanger from Sky as she held the dress in front of her body, “We travelled to 1911 when I wore this dress.”

“Are there pictures of you in it?” Sky asked.

“Oh, probably somewhere.” Sarah Jane shrugged.

“It’s beautiful.” Sky continued to look at the dress, playing with the fabric a little.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane smiled, “I suppose it is quite pretty, huh?”

Sarah Jane then hung up that dress and then noticed her old fur coat.

“Oh wow!” Sarah Jane picked up the coat, “I used to wear this a lot.”

“Is it real fur?” Sky asked, a little fearful.

“No, no. Faux fur.” Sarah Jane turned, “That was such a cosy jacket. I wore this in Antarctica.”

“Antarctica?” Sky’s eyes widened.

“Yeah.” Sarah Jane giggled at her daughter’s reaction, “We went so many places, Sky. So many places with so many stories.”

“Look at those wellies!” The Doctor appeared next to them, picking up Sarah Jane’s old orange wellington boots.

“Those are… bright.” Sky swallowed.

“It was actually very smart because we were in such a dull place, I could be spotted anywhere.” Sarah Jane defended herself.

“You usually did stick out like a sore thumb, didn’t you, Sarah Jane?” The Doctor teased.

“Says the man who wore velvet smoking jackets and the longest scarf I have possibly ever seen?” Sarah Jane raised an eyebrow.

“Has she shown you the dungarees?” The Doctor turned to Sky.

“Oh God.” Sarah Jane rolled her eyes.

“No?” Sky shook her head.

“When your mum had to go home, she was wearing these white and red dungarees with three stars on her chest.” The Doctor explained to Sky.

“You didn’t wear that?” Luke asked in disbelief with his face screwed up.

“She did!” The Doctor pointed to Sarah Jane, “She looked like Andy Pandy!”

Luke and Sanjay laughed but Sky was confused.

“Who’s Andy Pandy?” Sky asked.

“Oh well, look at the time, we better be getting dinner sorted, huh?” Sarah Jane checked her watch quickly, “Come on, let’s get going.”

Luke, Sky and Sanjay left the room and headed back to the attic, leaving Sarah Jane and the Doctor still in her room. The Doctor knew she was trying to get them out of the room but he was not sure why. As he looked at her face, the Doctor couldn’t read her expression. He felt she was angry with him and felt his stomach turn to knots. He didn’t mean to upset her, he was just messing around.

“I’m sorry.” The Doctor said softly.

“What for?” Sarah Jane asked with a grown.

“For teasing you.” The Doctor replied, “Calling you Andy Pandy.”

“Oh.” Sarah Jane giggled softly, “That didn’t bother me, Doctor. I did look like Andy Pandy. I liked those dungarees, they were comfy.”

“They definitely looked comfy.” The Doctor nodded with a chuckle.

Sarah Jane chuckled with him before looking up to him. She stepped forward, taking his hand in hers. She rubbed her thumb against the back of his hand, looking down at their hands before finally looking back to him.

“It’s odd being here after so long.” Sarah Jane said quietly.

“It is.” The Doctor nodded.

“A lot of memories here.” Sarah Jane added.

“Yes.” The Doctor replied, “Many memories. You know, Sarah?” Sarah Jane looked up to him, “I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you. It would have… It would have ended me. I wouldn’t have been able to go on. You’re so special to me. Too special.” He cupped her cheek with his other hand, “My precious Sarah.” He whispered.

Sarah Jane noticed how his eyes were filling up. She had never seen him like this. She was so surprised. She knew the Doctor cared for her but after all these years, after all the people he met, she thought he had forgotten about her in that sense. But he hadn’t. He still cared so much for her. Sarah Jane rested her other hand over his on her cheek and smiled up to him.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not going anywhere, huh?” Sarah Jane said softly.

They both giggled. The Doctor looked to the ground before back up at Sarah Jane’s face. They felt themselves moving closer to one another slowly, their lips centimetres from one another.

“Mum?” Luke called from the hall, “Doctor? Are you both coming?”

“Uh, yes.”’Sarah Jane called back to Luke before looking back to the Doctor. It felt a little awkward as they stood with one another, “We probably should go.”

“Yes.” The Doctor nodded and they let go of one another.

The Doctor let Sarah Jane leave the room first as he closed the door behind them. They started walking down the corridors when Sarah Jane started to giggle. The Doctor was confused, unsure what she was giggling at but when she linked her arm with his and kept close as they walked, he didn’t seem to care.

\- - -

A few months later…

\- - -

Sky sat at the computer in the attic as she typed up an essay. It was now summer and Sky was working on her homework before she went back to school. As she typed, Sky was aware of a strange sound. She assumed that it could be Mr. Smith or just some cars outside but it got louder and much clearer. Sky stopped typing and turned to see the TARDIS materialising in the attic. Her jaw dropped as she got up from the desk and went to stand in front of Mr. Smith.

“Mum?” Sky called downstairs.

“Yeah?” Sarah Jane called back but there was a response. Sarah Jane sighed and went upstairs.

When she reached the attic, she frowned at Sky.

“What’s wrong?” Sarah Jane asked. She didn’t notice the TARDIS and just Sky’s shocked face. She walked down the steps, “What are you looking…” She stopped when she noticed the TARDIS, “At.”

Sarah Jane grinned brightly to the police box in her attic. She put her arm around Sky, waiting for those doors to open.

The door opened and the Doctor grinned to her as he poked his head out of the TARDIS.

“Hello, Sarah.”

Sarah Jane giggled as she walked up to him and put her arms around his neck. The Doctor put his arms around her waist, holding her tight to him as they hugged. Clara came out of the TARDIS behind him, smiling to Sky.

“How are you? Let me have a look at you.” The Doctor said as he broke off the hug before cupping Sarah Jane’s face, “Aw, you look so much better. Great. Fantastic. Belissima!”

Sarah Jane giggled as the Doctor hugged her again. They broke off the hug again.

“It’s good to see you.” Sarah Jane broke off the hug before turning to Clara and smiled, “The both of you.” She then gasped, “Luke and Sanjay are on their way here. They just come back from holiday and that’s them home today. I better call Clyde and Rani too, let them know you’re here.” She tapped the Doctor’s arm, “We could have a right good catch up with everyone, I’ll be two ticks!”

Sarah Jane called Luke and Sanjay and then Clyde and Rani whilst the Doctor and Clara talked to Sky. The kids got back to Bannerman Road and all greeted the Doctor and Clara. It turned out to be a lovely day so they all decided to sit outside and have a barbecue.

“So, what’s been happening?” The Doctor asked, “Any trouble?”

“What’s life without a little bit of trouble?” Sarah Jane giggled, “Just the usual. Slitheen, Graske, no one very nasty.” Sarah Jane replied. She then softened, her smile dropping, “Not like Ruby.”

The Doctor noticed Sarah Jane’s sombreness. He took her hand, stroking it softly with his thumb. Sarah Jane did not look at him, instead watching the birds on her garage roof.

“I still have nightmares. For some reason after you left, they got worse.” She chuckled, tears starting to fall though she ignored them, “Sky had to sleep with me for three weeks.” Sarah Jane sniffled, “I felt like a child.”

“Hey.” The Doctor cupped her face, making Sarah Jane look up at him, “It’s not your fault. What she did to you… it was horrible. Traumatising. You shouldn’t feel bad about what she did to you.”

“For weeks, I…” Sarah Jane stopped, blinking through her tears, “I was useless. So caught up in my thoughts that I couldn’t focus on the planet.”

“You needed a break. I should have stayed. I should have stayed to look after you until I knew you fully recovered.”

“No. No, you couldn’t have. You had to go.”

“I should have stayed.”

“No. You had to go. I needed to be on my own. I need to live my life on my own. We both know that.”

“I could have helped you. I could have helped you forget.”

“No.” She looked up to him, “No. Don’t you dare bring that up again. You know I can’t forget.”

The Doctor sighed as he sat forward. They watched on as Sanjay and Sky played swingball, Luke and Rani sat on the grass as they chatted and Clyde and Clara stood at the barbecue, keeping an eye on the burgers. Sarah Jane sighed, looking down at her hands in her lap. The Doctor turned to look at her and took her hand once more.

“I heard what you said to Ruby about me.” Sarah Jane sniffled slightly, “You told her you loved me.”

“Yes.” The Doctor nodded.

“Did you mean it?” Sarah Jane asked.

“Of course I meant it.” The Doctor replied, “I will always mean it. You know, I should have come back for you years ago. I should have made it up to you.”

“But look at our lives now. Look at what we have.” Sarah Jane gestured to the others, “I would have never found any of them if you had come back. Maybe your forgetfulness comes in handy at times.”

“Well, there’s that. But remember, Sarah,” The Doctor said, “I would never forget you.”

“Good because I would never forget you either.” Sarah Jane chuckled.

The Doctor chuckled with her before he cupped her face and brought her lips to his. They held each other close as they kissed, not caring about the others around them.

Clara laughed as she turned to look behind her. She stopped when she noticed the Doctor and Sarah Jane kissing. Her jaw dropped as she nudged Clyde. Clyde turned and his jaw dropped as well. He looked over to Rani who made eye contact with him. He gestured to Sarah Jane and the Doctor as Rani turned to look at them.

“Luke!” Rani shook his shoulder.

Luke turned around and his eyes widened.

“Oh my God.” Luke said with a look of shock before Rani and him chuckled. He turned to look at Sky, “Sky, Sanjay, look.”

“No way!” Sky exclaimed, a little too loud.

Sarah Jane and the Doctor broke off the kiss as they turned to look at Sky. They were met with everyone looking at them. The Doctor started to laugh, causing Sarah Jane to laugh as she blushed brightly. The others joined in with the laughter and then continued with their afternoon. The Doctor and Sarah Jane looked at one another as they chuckled more. He wiped her cheeks gently before cupping her face.

“If you ever need me, you’ll call, won’t you?” The Doctor asked, “I know it’s not totally practical but I’ll always come if you need me.”

“I will.” Sarah Jane replied, “I know I can rely on you.”

“And the same to you.” The Doctor took her hand, “My trusty best friend.”

“Always.” Sarah Jane winked.


End file.
